


When the Future Began

by chamel



Series: You Left Me Under Your Spell: A Collection of CaraDin Short Stories [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Babysitting, Bonding, Fluff, Foundlings, Gen, The Armorer tries to work and the kid helps out, Toys, mentioned CaraDin, the armorer pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25748464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamel/pseuds/chamel
Summary: “I have things to do,” she told the child, as if he’d understand her. “Don’t get in the way.”The child cooed. She didn’t know if that was an agreement or not. It had been quite a long time since there were any foundlings or other children in the tribe, she could hardly remember what she used to do to keep them occupied. She’d been so young herself, too. So much had changed.(The Armorer agrees to watch the child while Din takes care of some important business.)
Relationships: Cara Dune/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), The Armorer & Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: You Left Me Under Your Spell: A Collection of CaraDin Short Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680589
Comments: 33
Kudos: 120





	When the Future Began

**Author's Note:**

> I was going through my drafts folder and found this. I wrote it months ago but at the time I thought it was maybe too silly? IDK, I never posted it, but I decided to now. It takes place during the events of [The Sound of You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22973275), but you can read it on it's own. I've tagged it with CaraDin even though Cara isn't even in the story mostly so people can find it.
> 
> Once again I've become the first work in a relationship tag, lol.
> 
> Title taken from the They Might Be Giants song “Then the Kids Took Over”

“I’m not a babysitter,” the Armorer said, arms crossed in front of her as she looked at the man in front of her skeptically.

“I know you’re not,” Din replied, sounding somewhat exhasperated. “But isn’t it the way of the tribe that foundlings are the responsibility of the whole community?”  
  
The Armorer gave a slight nod. “It is. When is the last time you looked out for the foundlings here?”

She had him, and he knew it. His shoulders drooped and he sighed. He looked weary, like something was weighing on him, but she couldn’t be certain if it was merely the foundling or something more. Little ones that young could be a trial, she knew. “I know I don’t have the right to ask it,” he replied hollowly. “Let me beg a favor from you, then? Just for a few hours. This is really important to me. I’ll owe you.”  
  
“You already do,” she shot back, but before he could look even more pitiful she relented. “All right, I’ll watch him. Three hours, no more.”

The way his shoulders straightened gave off such a unmistakable happiness that she couldn’t help but smile under her helmet. “Thank you! I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he effused. He looked down at the child who stood next to him. “Be good, ok? Don’t give her any grief.”

The child chirped softly in response and looked at her. The Armorer had to wonder how much he understood of the conversation. What’s the brain of a fifty-year-old toddler like? It was hard to imagine. After Din left they stood for a little while, just looking at each other.

“I have things to do,” she told the child, as if he’d understand her. “Don’t get in the way.”

The child cooed. She didn’t know if that was an agreement or not. It had been quite a long time since there were any foundlings or other children in the tribe, she could hardly remember what she used to do to keep them occupied. She’d been so young herself, too. So much had changed.

She turned her back on the child and walked over to her work bench. A cracked and dented breastplate lay on it, waiting for her to repair it. It’s owner had insisted on repair instead a simple replacement, but she planned to reinforce it with a beskar alloy all the same. She picked up the plate and inspected it briefly before she reached out to the spot where her hammer always sat to begin hammering out the dents.

Her hand hit empty table. She looked over to see that the child had somehow climbed the table and sat close by, the hammer stuck in his mouth. How had he gotten up there without her knowing it? He’d been totally silent.

“I’ll take that, thanks,” she told him as she extracted the hammer from his grasp.

She held it out by her fingertips, cringing slightly at the drool threatening to drip off. Wiping it with a dirty towel, she spun it briefly in one hand and began lightly tapping on the dents to work them out.

The child seemed to be watching her as she worked. She glanced over to him occasionally, but he didn’t move far. He’d co-opted another of her tools into a chew toy, but she didn’t need it so she let him play with it. This wasn’t _so_ bad, then. She could see how he’d won over Din in such a short time. He had a surpringly intelligent, wise expression gracing his tiny face.

Once she’d finished hammering out all the dents she moved across the workshop to the forge to make a mold of the breastplate. It was the work of only a few minutes to do so, and after she finished she made to pour a thin layer of beskar into the mold for the new reinforcement. She dropped an ingot of beskar into the forge and it melted quickly. The beskar poured smoothly as she sent it flowing into the mold.

“Shit,” she breathed, looking at the mold full of beskar.

She’d forgotten the tool she needed to finalize it across the room, and by the time she went to get it, the plate would be hardened improperly. No matter, she would melt it down again and make a new mold. She heard a chirp next to her and looked down to see the child holding the tool she needed up to her. For a moment she just blinked at him, uncomprehending. How did he know? But she might as well finish her work, so she took it quickly and finalized the reinforcement. When she had completed it she looked back down at the child. He was smiling up at her, looking mighty pleased with himself if she wasn’t mistaken. She’d told Din that she didn’t think that the child had the strength to complete the Mandalorian training, but she wasn’t so sure anymore. He was full of surprises.

“You’re pretty cute, you know that?” she told him, hardly realizing what she’d said until the words were out of her mouth. Ah well, at least she was alone. “I bet you do.”

Despite herself, she reached down to pick him up. He cooed happily, reaching for the tool he’d given her previously where it lay nearby.

“That’s too hot. You need a real toy, anyway.”

She considered this statement for a moment before walking over to the workbench to set him down. He watched her intently as she fashioned an entirely new mold. It was definitely unlike anything she’d ever made before. The two halves of the mold came together quickly and she grabbed a small chunk of beskar to drop into the forge. After a few seconds she poured the molten beskar into the mold and left it to cure.

“What’s your father up to, anyway?” she asked the child as they waited, watching him with growing curiosity. The child burbled softly in response. “That’s what I thought.”

She set to soldering the pieces together, adding the small decoration she’d cast. In the end she had produced a small toy with a ring on one end and a hollow sphere on the other. Metal beads inside rattled softly as she handed it to the child. He inspected it for a second then immediately stuffed the ring end in his mouth. The Armorer smiled at his delight.

When Din arrived she was working intently on another armor repair as the child sat nearby and watched her, chewing on his new toy. She had hardly noticed that the time had drawn on and it was past the three hour deadline she’d given him earlier.

“Sorry I’m late,” Din said as he entered. “I hope he didn’t give you any trouble.”

The Armorer stood up from her work and turned toward him. “Not too much. He’s quite the unique child.”

“He is,” Din agreed. He walked over to where the kid sat. “What’s this?” he asked, pointing to the toy. He looked back at her questioningly.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Just something I threw together.”

“Is that beskar?” The awe in his voice was obvious. Beskar was sacred to them, used for weapons and armor, and almost never for something as frivolous as a child’s toy. She couldn’t quite say why she had done it, really, only that it had felt right.

“It is,” she confirmed. “It was part of his bounty. I thought he deserved some back. The foundlings are the future.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and she wondered what he was thinking. It might seem like a small thing to an outsider, but she knew she’d just implicitly accepted his foundling as more than just a child to be returned to his own people. When he spoke, his voice was thick. “This is the Way. Thank you.”

“It was nothing,” she replied, turning back to her work again to avoid his gaze. Displays of emotion like that made her uncomfortable. “Did you have success today?”

She heard him swallow hard. “I did.”

“Good,” she answered, not looking up from the workbench. “She will be a worthy partner.”

“Who… how…?” he stammered, clearly flustered.

The Armorer smiled to herself. “You’re not a subtle as you think you are. Good luck with whatever clever plan you’ve devised.”

There was another beat, then he replied, “Thanks. For everything.”

“You’re welcome. And… if you need me to watch him again, just let me know.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, there you go. The Armorer & Baby Yoda bonding fic you never knew you wanted. 😂 As always, your comments mean the world to me and are greatly appreciated.


End file.
